1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printer with a cutter.
2. Description of the Related Art
As printer with a cutter having a cutter mechanism, there has been known a thermal printer, which prints onto special recording paper (heat-sensitive paper) which develops a color when subjected to heat. A thermal printer, which is capable of being reduced in size and weight and has a simple configuration without using toner or ink, is incorporated into a casing of, for example, a cash register or a mobile terminal device and is widely used for printing various kinds of labels, register receipt, ticket, and the like.
As the above thermal printer, for example, a so-called separate-type thermal printer is known in which a head unit having a thermal head is attached to a casing body accommodating a roll paper and a platen unit having a platen roller is attached to a printer cover connected to the casing body such that the cover can be opened and closed. The above cutter mechanism includes a fixed blade and a movable blade which are incorporated respectively into, for example, the head unit and the platen unit of the above units. According to the configuration, by sliding the movable blade against the fixed blade as the platen unit is combined with the head unit, recording paper is caught between the movable and the fixed blades to be cut therebetween.
The thermal printer also has a sensor mounted therein for activating the platen roller. As a printer of this type, for example, one is known in which a sensor detects whether a cutter unit equipped with a cutter mechanism is normally set to a body unit equipped with a thermal head and a platen roller, and the platen roller is activated only when the sensor has detected that the cutter unit is normally set.
The above thermal printer, however, usually needs a sensor for detecting a position of the movable blade, for example, in terms of safety. In the configuration of the printer, therefore, separate sensors are needed including the above sensor for activating the platen roller and a sensor for detecting an initial position (home position) of the movable blade. The separate-type thermal printer also needs separate sensors including a sensor for keeping track of the setting state of the platen unit and the head unit for activating the platen roller and a sensor for detecting the initial position of the movable blade. In those cases, undesirably, the provision of the plurality of sensors easily leads to the increased number of components, decreased layout performance, and increased cost.
Here, it is conceivable that, in the above separate-type thermal printer, the head unit may be provided with the sensor and the platen unit be provided with the movable blade and the detected member working together with the movable blade. In this case, it is thought that the only one sensor is needed both for keeping track of the setting state of the units and for detecting the initial position of the movable blade by configuring the sensor to detect the detected member when the platen unit is combined with the head unit.
However, in the above separate-type thermal printer, the movable blade is attached to the platen unit, and thus this limits the simplification in the configuration of the platen unit. In a typical separate-type (clam shell type) thermal printer, the platen unit is attached to the printer cover as described above, which requires the platen unit to be reduced in size and weight. In the above platen unit, however, there is still room for reduction in size and weight of the printer cover to which the platen unit is attached.
In view of the foregoing, in this technical field, a printer with a cutter has been desired which keeps track of the setting state of the platen roller and detects an initial position of the movable blade while achieving improved layout performance, simplification, and cost reduction.